chapter 1
the TV screen lit up, revealing President Snow on a small stage outside his house in the capitol. we where all sitting in our small house, me, my mother, Wren and Martial all crammed into the small front room of our three room hut in the seam. It was mandatory viewing so we all knew that we would see similar scenes in all the houses in district twelve, and all the other districts for that matter.
'hello' starts president snow, addressing the whole of panem via the television.
'50 years ago' he continues 'the districts of panem rebelled against the capitol. They where defeated by the capitol and district 13 was destroyed, as an example to the other districts, however the capitol showed generosity to the remaining districts. we let them off however as a reminder of the capitols power every year we hold the hunger games. one male and one female child from each of the twelve districts competes in the hunger games, from which only one victor shall emerge alive.
'as an extra reminder of the capitols control and power over the districts every 25 years we hold a quarter quell, a hunger games with a twist dictated by our forebears during the time of the rebellion.
'so far we have held one of these, for the 25th anniversary. during the first quarter quell, as a reminder to the rebels that it was their choice to rebel therefore their fault that their children die every year, people had to vote on whom from their district should represent them as a tribute during the games.'
president snow picks a yellowing card, bearing the number 50 from a bow held by a young capitol child. they are obviously expecting the games to go on for thousands of years looking at the numerous number of cards in this box.
'this year, as the 50th anniversary of the games, to remind the the rebels that for every capitol citizen that was killed two rebels where killed, not two but four tributes will be chosen from each district. good day' the capitol seal appears on the screen and the anthem is played before my mother reaches for the remote and the screen cuts out.
silence.
i am aged 16. this is my 4th year of being eligible for the hunger games, yet so far i have been lucky however this year the odds are not in my favor. Martial, my older brother, is now 19 so he can no longer sign up for much needed tesserae, grain and resources that my mother needs to support our family. Wren, my little sister, is now twelve so she is in the reaping however i refused to let her sign up for tesserae, she dosn't deserve to die in the hunger games. because of this i have signed up with enough tesserae to last the year plus my 4 mandatory entries that are required by every 16 year old, and there is double that chance that anyone will get picked now...
Wren huddles up to me on our threadbare sofa. we are silent. Martial looks away and is suddenly very interested in a bird pecking at the moss on our window sill. previous years we have shared out the tesserae so neither of us are especially likely to be chosen, however this year he is too old to sign up for tesserae, therefore i have signed up for double.
my mother opens her mouth. 'Haymitch-' she begins but i interrupt her.
'it's fine' i say 'there are loads of kids in the district and loads of them have signed up for even more tesserae than me. what are the odds?? not much compared to some people.'
i stand up and walk out of the door before they start to feel more sorry for me or i can think too much about it. i need to find Laurel.
i leave the house. the street is deserted because everyone is still inside after the quell announcement. i walk down the street and turn the corner into the meadow. the flowers have just come out, it being spring, and it gives the meadow a bright cheery look that contrasts with the horror of the announcement i have just heard. even if i don't get chosen it's more likely that someone i know will be chosen and its twice the number of people who will die for the entertainment of the fancy, snobs in the capitol.
